The only decent release came from BCI Eclipse several years ago same with Sorcerers. They released a Spanish horror collection of i think 10 films (I'm just missing The Dracula Saga) all beautifully restored for dvd, so much so that they seemed almost blu quality back then. Sadly all are now out of print.

Until the Scream blu came out, that is. I highly recommend it, Nos.

:laugh:
I got SP as a Xmas present one year. Loony film. Not as loony as Naked Blood though :behindsofa::lol:;)

The Dentist 2: Brace Yourself (1998)

Decentish gory sequel from director Brian Yuzna which revolts but doesn't really have much in the way of tension until the finale. Not for the squeamish or anyone who has a phobia about going to the dentist.

Some of the flaws about basic dental procedure make the film seem rather unrealistic.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

I'm not really sure what to make of this film. I'm not the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world- ie, i've seen the films but gave up the books about a hundred pages into Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, so had no real anticipation for a new series of films set in the same universe as Potter but decades earlier.

This film is littered with references to the world of Potter which was quite nice but it's also stand alone enough as to not alienate anybody completely new. Eddie Redmayne was terrific as Newt and made me wish he'd been cast as the 13th Doctor, as was Alison Sudol, in fact all the cast, from Katherine Waterston and Dan Fogler to Colin Farrell, were uniformly excellent, well rounded and beautifully written. Even the smaller fantastic beasts were lovely creations which left me wishing the story had properly centred round them.

Where the film fell apart for me was in what i suppose were really classed as the show stopping set pieces as large cloudy squiggles decimated twenties New York City. I was bored to tears, it's nothing new in the film world of the 21st century and i found it all tedious in the extreme.

Once the CGI shit was done with we were left with a genuinely sweet ending as the characters went their own ways which left me with a smile on my face but also skewed my thinking that the film was better than it actually was. A good first 45 minutes and a very good last ten minutes with a lot of nonsense in between.

LORD OF ILLUSIONS – Two magicians battle it out behind the scenes of noirish nineties LA in this Clive Barker helmed tale. Those expecting the kind of decadent grotesquery that was the hallmark of ‘The Books of Blood’ will find some of that here, albeit formatted for the direct-to-video era for better or worse. Enjoyable enough but no ‘Hellraiser’.

THE CHILDREN – I’d forgotten about this little weirdo until it came along again via everyone’s fave boutique, Vinegar Syndrome. It’s a messy affair, full of stillborn acting and clunky direction that clearly signpost its shoestring origins, but at its heart lies something quite freaky. A nuclear power station leaks a cloud of stuff that turns some kids into zombies with black fingernails – they melt the adults with irradiated hugs! If this isn’t tragic enough, it turns out that the only way to stop them is by cutting their hands off. It’s not particularly graphic, but there’s something disturbing about the howling death scenes that mark the end of the movie. Otherwise, there are lots of eccentric moments and odd, obnoxious characters. A worthy rediscovery.

THE FIEND – Don Dohler’s backyard epic, a semi-take on Dracula. New weird guy moves in next door. He’s a music teacher, keeps himself to himself, but then all these people start turning up strangled and he does have an odd shrine complete with ripped up photographs of the victims in his dampened cellar… ‘The Fiend’ is very skronky and was obviously put together with 27p and a multi-pack of space raiders, but is quite impressively made considering its resource deficit, notwithstanding the usual wooden acting etc etc. It’s also curiously restrained compared with that peak Dohler moment, ‘Nightbeast’. But there’s something pretty bleak about it and it does ooze a very downbeat, sinister atmosphere, one that probably wouldn’t take hold half as much were it not for the pulsating, grinding synth soundtrack. Enjoyable curio.

THE PREDATOR – Well, it’s a re-run of the whole ‘Predator’ legend against the backdrop of a Netflixy “latter day, but done with a nineteen eighties reimagined from the point of view of the two thousand and teens kind of feel to it” universe. I’m no fan of the original movies, so I had no massive bias for or against. Some decent gore and action all wrapped up in an impressive enough visual package, but… dunno, just couldn’t really get into it, and found myself clock-watching during the numerous battle scenes and moments of intrigue.

BODY MELT – Again, another flick I’d maybe seen a couple of times in the past, but had completely forgotten about. I thought it was great this time around – a satire on the body / health obsession of the eighties / nineties which features a sinister health farm and its even more sinister products. There’s a choppiness and a looseness to it, and there are no central characters – quite a brave move, but, although it does unfold as a series of vignettes, it does come together in a more or less consistent manner. Besides the expected gloop factor present during the many instances of cheap-but-effective fx showcasing, there are just lots of strange and disturbing interludes, such as the mutilated woman at the airport who later seems to become a serial killer in search of men’s ribs… it’s all a drug induced hallucination, but ‘reality’ in this movie is hardly less bizarre when you consider Harold Bishop is on board as a one eared evil doctor. I dimly remembered disliking its comedic aspect in the past, but it didn’t seem an issue watching it now. Highly recommended.

Love BM. Kudos as always sir :nod:

Cannot wait to get my slimy mitts on it ..... :dance:

The Dead Are Alive.

A chap called jason porter(Alex cord) is a professor who is on a archeological dig at a Etruscan tomb and finds himself the prime suspect when a serial killer goes on the rampage leaving a pair of red shoes on the dead womens feet.

This is a pretty entertaining and stylish giallo from the chap who did Autopsy armando Crispin. its rather slow moving and complex at times, but still a solid effort that holds your interest.
The title of the film seems to hint at a zombie supernatural angle but its more of a mystery thriller with the odd murder every now and again.
Acting is pretty solid too with Samantha Egger co-starring as Cord's ex wife who still has feelings for him. Good effort. 78 out of 100.

I've only seen this once, about 18 months ago and found it tough maintaining my interest. Reminded me of the equally stodgy Fulci film Demonia

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I'll keep this short and sweet no need for an in depth review everyone has seen this film already.

Carnival.of Souls is one of those films that the more I watch it the more I love it it just seems to get better everytime. The creepy dreamlike atmosphere and the organ playing soundtrack blend perfectly together to create a beautiful experience especially the pavilion scenes .

This is my first time watching the criterion blu ray and I have to say it looks stunning the upgrade from criterion DVD to blu ray is outstanding.

8/10

Don't think that i've watched a giallo yet that i havent enjoyed. yes it's a bit pedestrian at times. but it had nice locations and atmosphere and an interesting cast. ::)
Demonia needs a rewatch. was seriously underwhelmed by that one last time. :lol: